Field
The present invention relates to the field of managing public services. More particularly, the present invention relates to the directing and assessing the activities of public safety agencies, such as police, fire, EMS, and disaster relief agencies.
Description of the Related Art
Public safety agencies, such as police, fire, and EMS, are responsible for responding to a multitude of different events, occurrences, and circumstances. Responding in an effective manner to the variety of situations and circumstances is a complex and resource-intensive undertaking. Computer-aided dispatch systems are used by many public agencies to help manage the resources available to the agencies. For some agencies, however, the cost and complexity of many existing dispatch systems may make them impractical or cost-prohibitive. This may be especially the case for agencies that are relatively small in size and/or have relatively limited financial resources.
In many situations, resources from multiple agencies (for example, fire, police, and EMS) from multiple jurisdictions (for example, two adjacent cities) are deployed to make an effective response. Challenges may arise in managing the personnel and other resources of different agencies and different jurisdictions, since each agency and each jurisdiction may have its own personnel, communication systems, protocols, rules, and procedures.